in fact, he is using his comments to draw a sharp contrast with the president. >> his approach is a government centered america where government takes more and more and then gives to those who believe they need that help. we all believe that when people are in distress and when they need help we give them temporary help. we pull them back out. but we don't believe in redistribution. >> when i meet republicans, as i'm traveling around the country they are hard working family people who care deeply about this country and my expectation is that if you want to be president you got to work for everybody not just for some. and the -- [ applause ] >> also jingling republican news is a new poll that shows president obama has opened up a five-point lead among likely voters. for the first type since march his approval rating has hit 50. on the centerpiece of mitt

romney's campaign, the economy, he's lost the six-point advantage he had in july on how to handle the economy the candidates are now tied. joining me is perry bacon political editor for the grio and msnbc contributor and ron foreignier fornier editor-in-chief of the national journal. good morning. romney's own supporters have said any day he is not able to talk about the economy is a bad day for the campaign so how bad is this for mitt romney right now? >> this last three weeks have been horrible for mitt romney. co coming out of the convention his goal was to humanize himself, show he had some empathy with the public to close that empathy gap. what has happened is he has not been able to close that gap and president obama has been able to do what he needed to get done which is to convince americans that the country is heading on the right track. that number has gone up. it's still low but has gone up. and to convince americans he is the right man to fix the economy. for the first time as your poll shows, that number is tied.

so mitt romney's got to do something to take this narrative back to the campaign or he is in deep trouble. >> it is interesting to see what he is doing. he is trying to do both of those things, respond to this by as we said embracing it. his running mate paul ryan is also defending this substance of the secretly recorded remarks. take a listen. >> he was obviously inarticulate in mauking this point. i think he would have said it differently for sure. the point still stands we have too many people becoming too dependent upon government because of the poor economic policies of the obama administration. >> as you know, perry, there are conservatives who are happy about this. they want romney to use this, to talk about entitlements, to draw this distinction between him and the president could hit possibly swi swinging -- could it possibly swing him back on track? >> i don't think so. even paul ryan romney's running mate the first thing he said was the comment was inarticulate. there is no way to spin these remarks themselves and the recording as being good.

that said, a lot of republicans like the broader message of big government under obama. i think that is something you'll see. they'll emphasize even more now half of this is a way to move forward to talk about government growth, people on foodstamps under the president, the growth of the health care bill. these are things republican like and it looks like the polls are showing there aren't a lot of swing voters out there left. one thing the republicans have to do is make sure they turn out their base as much as possible. and emphasizing this government argument is one way to do that. >> well, let me play for you what nancy pelosi had to say this morning. she was asked about this on the "today" show. >> i think he said what he believed and what he believed is not in furtherance of the american dream for the american people. work hard, play by the rules, take responsibility. >> does this play into the democratic narrative that mitt romney is this rich guy who doesn't get the struggles of every day americans? >> sure it plays into the

democratic narrative but as perry pointed out, with, you know, the slightest bit of footwork it plays into the republican narrative and that is what mitt romney and paul ryan started doing yesterday. it is what they can do going forward. the fact is this race isn't over. there's still a lot of campaign ahead of us. we have three debates, any one of them can turn it. we have many more gaffes that both president obama and governor romney can make, so what you do when you make a mistake like this, you try to turn it as much as you can into your narrative and that is what mitt romney is trying to do. >> a lot can change in seven weeks. gentlemen, stick around. i want to bring in congressman tom cole republican from oklahoma and the former chairman of the rncc. good to see you, congressman. good morning. >> chris, great to be with you. >> i'm sure you've seen them. a lot of headlines this morning about how nervous republicans are. let me read to you part of what peggy noonan wrote today. i think there is a broad and growing feeling now among republicans that this thing is slipping out of romney's hands. it's time to admit the romney

campaign is an incompetent one. it's not big. it's not brave. it's not thoughtfully tackling grave issues. she says it's time for an intervention. is she right, congressman? >> i don't think so. look, we're in the fourth quarter of a very close game and every play is magnified. i don't think we'll be looking back at the end of the game and say this was a decisive turning point. no question that governor romney would have said this differently had he thought he was speaking in public and should have said it differently but the fundamental point i think as ron suggested is right. this plays into the narrative of both parties. there is a big debate over the scope, the size, and the role of government. we think it ought to be smaller. we think we ought to be pushing policies that make the american people more in control of their own lives and more independent from government. i think that's what mitt romney is trying to do. i think the decisive months yet to come, it's going to be october, it's going to be the debates. >> as we said, it's making a lot of people who write those headlines, and write op-ed pieces on the republican side

nervous. and senator scott brown and senate candidate linda mcmann have both spoken out now against romney's remarks. one republican said that when a candidate is in trouble, members of congress are the first rats off the ship. and using that, to sort of -- it's a funny line but -- >> let me speak for the rats. >> it's pointing out the fact that once you start seeing people distancing themselves from a campaign because they believe it is going to hurt their own campaign that is when republicans need to start to worry. i mean, when will you start to get seriously worried? >> honestly, in my state, mitt romney is going to win overwhelmingly and i think that's true in a lot of parts of the country. we are in a very close election a lot like 2000 in that sense or 2004 where each individual movement is magnified. i'm sure the president wishes he had back the "you didn't make that" remark. i'm sure he wished earlier in his career he hadn't talked about guns and religion. but the fact is he survived

those remarks, won the last election, you know, still is in a strong position in this election. this is just not a game changing event. i think the debates is where the swing voters make their first and really their final impression simultaneously, so we've got to do well there but we're in a very competitive race. the president is not nearly as good a position as he was four years ago. we've got a great case to make. he's got a difficult environment. so i still wouldn't panic. i would be focused and we just need to get the job done. >> let me ask you this question. i think your experience at the head of the dncc makes you particularly good to talk about -- >> rncc. some of my critics thought i was on the other side but not really. >> let's talk money. doneser are getting a little nervous and the campaign had conference calls yesterday to talk to them and calm their nerves. i need to read for you another quote from peggy noonan. romney's staff used to brag they had a lower burn rate. they were saving it up. for what?

for the moment when americans would rather poke out their eyeballs and stomp on the goo than listen to another ad. let me ask you what you think that given, you know, a series of problems for the romney campaign they need to do how do they get ahead of this? is it ads? is it more what he has to say? does he need to spend less time raising money and more time on the stump? what do you think, congressman? >> well, money is not going to be decisive in this race. both sides have plenty of money and frankly the differences in the spending rate have more to do with romney not being able to spend all his money until august or anything else. he literally couldn't spend a lot of what he had early. that is unfortunate. the obama campaign did a good job focusing. but if i were the romney campaign, look. it's time to lay out specifics, to engage on economy like a laser. that's the real issue here. jobs, the deficit, how do we get economic growth going? you hold the obama campaign and candidacy accountable for the promises they made and didn't keep. look, president said -- >> do you think he has not articulated that well enough

yet? >> not yet. but again, i think this is the time. it is now going forward. we're in a very close race as ron said. this race could go either way. there's going to be lots of twists and turns. we've got plenty of time left. i think there is a little premature panic going on. look, it's going to be close to the end. we're never going to open up a lead where it's obvious. ronald reagan wasn't ahead at this point in the campaign. i'm not surpred mitt romney isn't either but he is in the best position to upset an incumbent since bill clinton in 1992. no one has been in a better position and he can do it. but they do obviously need to get the job done the next 48 days. >> republican congressman tom cole, thank you so much for being with us. great to talk to you. >> thanks, chris. >> let me bring up perry and ron. i think it is important to note, and if you look at polls and there are a whole bunch out now and we'll continue to see this for the next seven weeks this is still a close race. and despite the setbacks for mitt romney, take a look at these state by state polls.

these are the key battleground states. romney only trails the president by two points as you can see and look at wisconsin, colorado, virginia. what do these polls tell us, perry? >> i mean, a danger -- i agree with what the congressman said. the danger is the president leads in every poll in the swing states, virginia, ohio, florida, wisconsin, so it suggests the president is probably winning the race right now. the challenge for romney is that even at this moment the video is not going to kill him that much, the president has had a lead of 2 to 4 points throughout the race. it's been very stable and very stable with the president essentially leading throughout. romney has to upend and change something at this point. the debates will be an opportunity but probably the last opportunity. it is not necessarily the gaffes that are killing romney but prevent him from making any gains. like he had a speech planned in front of a latino group on monday and he gave the speech and it was completely obliterated by the news about

the video. and romney's down by 40 points among latino voters. he has to close those kinds of gaps if he is going to win the election. >> is that the key, ron, that sometimes the gaffes in both sides in the course of a campaign will make them, they come, they go, they rarely, you know, are complete and total game changers but to go back to my initial point, which is that if he's not saying what he had planned to say at this point in the campaign, if it's taking his eye off of their strategy, then they've got a real problem. >> of course they have a real problem. they're behind right now. i'd rather be ahead than behind. of course they're going up against an incumbent running a good campaign so, yes. they're having a problem. like i wrote yesterday weerks all have to take a breath here in washington. the race isn't over. it was four, six weeks ago we were all writing the democrats were upset with barack obama because he hadn't pulled ahead in the polls and wasn't running a very good campaign according to a lot of his supporters and we could be writing that story two weeks from now for all we

know. a lot of things can happen. not just the debates but we have an invasion in iran, more embassey storms. there's a lot of things we can't control and neither candidate can control. so romney has got to focus on taking back the narrative. he's lost it and hope that obama makes some mistakes. >> do you agree with what the congressman said money is not going to make a difference in this campaign, ron, that this is really about the message and do you think as peggy noonan suggested in a rather scathing article against the romney campaign that he needs to spend less time raising money and more time out on the stump? >> i do think money can make a difference and i do think romney has more. i do think romney made a big mistake though in the summer but not really pushing back hard on the defining obama was doing with his money and his bully pulpit at the time defining romney very strongly as someone who only cares about the rich, who likes to fire people, who is an uncaring capitalist. and that narrative has set in.

you see in the polls people really don't know who romney is, really don't like the guy. that is something they could have used their money, their bully pulpit much more effectively in the summer and at the convention. >> ron, perry, guys, great talking to you this morning. thank you so much. >> thanks, chris. meantime teachers and 350,000 kids are back in class in chicago this morning after that eight-day-long strike. each side is claiming victory. teachers will get a double digit pay increase over the next three years but it is smaller than they wanted. mayor rahm emanuel achieved his number one objective which is lengthening the school day. teachers still need to ratify the contract. we make a simple thing. a thing that helps you buy other things. but plenty of companies do that. so we make something else. we help make life a little easier, more convenient, more rewarding, more entertaining.

year after year. it's the reason why we don't have customers. we have members. american express. welcome in.

paul ryan on the campaign trail in danville, virginia a state where a new poll shows the president has pulled ahead 50-46%. we'll keep our eye on what he has to say. in the meantime with angry protests across the middle east over the u.s.-made anti-islam film a french magazine is now publishing cartoons of the prophet muhammad and riot police are guarding the offices of the french weekly as well as stepping up security at french embassies around the world as a result. the magazine is out today. joining me now is congressman c.a. dutch rugtersberger a democrat from maryland. good to see you. good morning. >> good morning, chris. >> you are ranking member of the house intelligence committee. a lot we'd like to get to. first of all let's start with this magazine. we're seeing this theme here. knowing the volatility of the situation and given the violence over the anti-islam movie is the magazine irresponsible for publishing this sattire or are they sending an important message that extremists will not

curb freedom of speech? i think it's irresponsible right now to -- all it is doing is antagonizing a very serious and volatile situation. france, like the united states is a democracy and we ber hind the issues of free speech and the press but when you have a tense situation where you've lost four american lives this is just going to make the situation a lot worse. this person who has published this had also published a cartoon, a negative cartoon i think about a year ago and the same type of situation. i know the french government asked him not to print it yet he did. this is going to become in my opinion -- >> the acting head of the egyptian brotherhood freedom and justice party told reuters he is going to call for a u.n. treaty against insulting religion. is that taking it too far? >> well, we are a democracy and we feel very strongly about our

constitution and freedom of speech and freedom of the press and i think that's what we have to stand by as a democracy but we have to do whatever we can to, number one, as a country condemn this type of situation because of what occurs. let me give you my opinion on this. i think that part of the issue is a lot of these people who are protesting and a lot of these muslim countries, these are either governments where the government controls the media and the press and as a result of that a lot of these people might be uneducated or in poverty probably don't realize our government has freedom of press, freedom of the speech, and that's i think where some of these problems occur. then the protests occur and they become violent and that's what happened in libya. >> there is another issue that is out there this morning and that is the decision to scale

back combined operations in afghanistan between coalition and afghan forces. you know, we've had this series of insider attacks. well, we just literally now got a statement from senators mccain, lieberman, and lindsay graham and if i can i'd like to read it and get your reaction. >> sure. >> this is just part of it. we are concerned that the rush to build up the afghan national security forces as quickly as possible, so that u.s. forces could begin withdrawing on the administration's timetable, has contributed to the problem of so-called insider attacks. your response? >> well, first thing, i respect all three of those senators. they have a right to their opinion. at this point i would hope that we would not come out with any comments putting blame anywhere especially when we're trying to deal and calm down this volatile situation with respect to the protests and what happened in libya and egypt and yemen and those parts of the world. there is no question that we have to refocus our efforts and protect our men and women who are over in afghanistan. i know i was in afghanistan about two months ago and i know

that the leadership there is focusing on these individuals from the military turning on americans. in fact, there was an individual in my district who was working with training the police and an individual he knew turned on him and killed him, unfortunately. >> all right. congressman ruppersberger so much to talk about. a very busy day in foreign affairs. thank you so much. >> good to be with you. more than just bad blood between japan and china. some japanese businesses in china are closed again because they're afraid of protests and looting. the outrage is because of these islands. japan bought them from a private owner but china says the islands are actually theirs. yesterday violent anti-japanese protests broke out across china and at one point 52 protesters blocked the u.s. ambassador's car. he is okay. ask me what it's like when my tempur-pedic moves. [ male announcer ] why not talk to someone who owns an adjustable version

of the most highly recommended bed in america? ask me about my tempur advanced ergo. goes up. goes up. ask me what it's like to get a massage anytime you want. goes down. goes down. [ male announcer ] tempur-pedic brand owners are more satisfied than owners of any traditional mattress brand. ergonomics. [ male announcer ] tempur-pedic. the most highly recommended bed in america. [ female announcer ] for more information or to find a retailer near you, visit tempurpedic.com. but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. to compete on the global stage.

what we need are people prepared for the careers of our new economy. by 2025 we could have 20 million jobs without enough college graduates to fill them. that's why at devry university, we're teaming up with companies like cisco to help make sure everyone's ready with the know how we need for a new tomorrow. [ male announcer ] make sure america's ready. make sure you're ready. at devry.edu/knowhow. ♪ i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. it put me at ease that you could smoke on the first week. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it.

if you develop these stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. with chantix and with the support system it worked. it worked for me. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. it worked for me. i i had pain in my abdomen...g. it just wouldn't go away. i was spotting, but i had already gone through menopause. these symptoms may be nothing... but they could be early warning signs of a gynecologic cancer, such as cervical, ovarian, or uterine cancer. feeling bloated for no reason. that's what i remember. seeing my doctor probably saved my life. warning signs are not the same for everyone. if you think something's wrong... see your doctor. ask about gynecologic cancer. and get the inside knowledge.

to politics. new clues to who is behind the secret tape of mitt romney at the florida fundraiser. james carter iv is the one who first tracked down the video. >> they thought that some of the things that romney was saying in the video needed to be heard by a wider audience. >> is it fair to assume the person who gave you this tape was not one the $50,000 contributors? >> i think it's probably fair to assume that. >> carter's grandfather president jimmy carter sent him an e-mail saying congratulations. papa. house republicans are introducing a bill that gets rid of a calorie cap on kids' school lunches. new usda guidelines put calorie limits at 850 for high schoolers, 650 for younger kids. one of the bill's sponsors says the guidelines are a perfect example of what's wrong with government. president obama hosted the

minnesota lynx to congratulate them on their title. mia moore who has played basketball with the president before told the crowd he has, quote, a really accurate funky little left-handed jumper. the president even got his own jersey. meantime david letterman last night had a little chat about the president's health. >> 180 looks good. >> thank you. >> that's just about where i am and i don't look so good at 180. >> you look sharp. >> you haven't seen me naked. >> we're going to keep it that way. >> and it's time for my morning must read. last week we told you about that missing dog who somehow never having been there before was found in his master's grave. well, today's must read is about a man who after a nearly 200-mile road trip in his corvette went to a garage because of a noise in his engine. you will not believe what the mechanic discovered. it's up on our facebook page at facebook/jansing co.

try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air. [ laughing ] [ laughing ] [ laughing ] [ laughing ] ♪ can help make you a better investor. our e-trade 360 investing dashboard shows you where your money is, live. e-trade pro is so usable you'll actually use it. and our apps are the ultimate in mobile investing. become a better investor at e-trade.

[ male announcer ] if you think all batteries are the same... consider this: when the unexpected happens, there's one brand of battery more emergency workers trust in their maglites: duracell. one reason: duralock power preserve. it locks in power for up to 10 years in storage. guaranteed. so, whether it's 10 years' of life's sunny days... or... the occasional stormy one... trust goes a long way. duracell with duralock. trusted everywhere.

struggling to shift the focus from his secretly taped remarks, mitt romney woke up to some tough headlines this morning about a week from hell, challenges getting back ontrack, and about his comments costing him precious time. well, he's fighting back. >> the president's view is one of a larger government. there's a date that just came out today where the president sang he likes redistribution. i disagree. i think a society based upon a government centered nation where government plays a larger and larger role, redistributes money is the wrong course for america. >> i'm joined now by former huckabee campaign manager chip saltsman and democratic strategist chris covinas. good to see both of you. >> good to be with you. are we making too much of this, chris? >> no. this is bad. by any objective standards i don't care whether you're democrat or republican if you're in the campaign business this has been a really tough few weeks for the romney campaign. the problem with the tape is it

reinforces hthe preexisting narrative about governor romney that he is cold and indifferent to the concerns of average people. that is not a good thing. all that said still seven weeks to go. no one should be chilling the champagne on the democratic side. there is still an opportunity for the romney campaign and my guess is there is really only one, the first debate. if romney doesn't do well in the first debate i think he is basically done. >> chip, do you see opportunities before the debate? >> actually i do. look, there is no question mitt romney has not had the best week but presidential campaigns have good weeks and bad weeks and the most important thing is not to panic. i think sometimes we do that. i still remember the first couple weeks of the obama campaign. it got off to a bad start and they were already writing obama can't get re-elected. these ebb and flow and we're flowing right now instead of ebbing. but i think the good point is he has plenty of time to do this. i'd much rather have a bad week 48 days out than maybe eight days out. >> one thing the romney campaign decided they were going to do, chip, is they were going to

bring out something and frankly we have heard it before about comments the president has made about redistribution which immediately the obama campaign pushed back against. was that a smart move? is there like trying to take it in another direction if you don't have something really strong, a good idea? >> well, look. i think the last couple days has been all negative and about mitt romney so i think the best thing for them to do is good offense is a good defense or good defense is a good offense and change the subject and that's what they've done. look, these remarks really feed into the greater issue of what president obama has done. he has grown government. he's added 4.6 trillion dollars to the debt. i think the romney campaign needs to focus on that and hammer on that. look, at the end of the day the election is still about the economy. we haven't been talking about the economy over the last week and anything mitt romney in his campaign can do to focus on that is good for them. >> yeah. here's the problem. i love chip but that's just wrong. the reality is, when you're campaigning you have to go back

to something that a candidate said like basically two decades ago. you got a problem. >> two decades ago? >> it was more than a decade. what was it a decade ago? >> well, anyway, look. i think that says something about the president of the united states that he thinks we should redistribute wealth. >> that is actually not what he said. if we're being genuine about his remarks what he was saying was the role of government and the role of government to basically help those who are less fortunate. that is a fundamental difference between these two campaigns. the difference is, president obama has made it very clear in terms of the limits of that. the difference with governor romney is he is completely indifferent to the plight of apparently 47% of which i would imagine many of them are republicans. >> let me bring in bart rossy. i'm curious. he is a political psychologist. >> right. >> we have a couple things going on here. one is what is really a difference in opinion about the role of government and that's something that has been debated. >> right. >> a lot in this campaign. the other is perceptions about who cares about me more?

and is there one or another that weighs more particularly in the minds of this small number of undecided voters? >> what i say as a political psychologist is personality trumps everything. i don't mean likability. but how you present yourself, your traits, your characteristics. are you consistent? are you the kind of person who will be a leader? are you comfortable in your own skin? i don't see this with the candidate, with romney. i don't see him presenting in a way that he is comfortable in what he says and he is believable. and i think that's what a lot of republicans are picking up on. they don't see him as a winner. >> well let's talk about that sort of aura. i mean, one of the things that some republicans have been concerned about is now there is this sense that this is a losing campaign and if you're a voter, do you want to be with the winner? if you're an undecided voter do you say, well, let's pick the guy who is going to win? >> well if you're an independent or moderate person wouldn't you want somebody that you can believe in that has the traits,

the characteristics, the personality that you think can lead the country? and how do you do that when you're dising or discarding 47% of the people? so i think he's got a real problem. he's got a real problem with the moderates and independents especially given how he is presenting himself. >> you can't change a person's basic personality though. >> no. >> not every president has been mr. warm and fuzzy. and, you know, even one of the things that the president joked about on letterman last night was how much better his wife's speech at the convention seemed to be received. >> right. >> than his own. he did make a joke about it. but how much -- i mean, it can't just be that. it can't just be that. >> well, we can't change his personality. but i wrote an article on a winning campaign. what's the focal point or the centerpiece of the romney campaign? he's gone back and forth. he's had a history of flip-flopping. now he is taking some of his own words back in the current campaign. i don't think that looks good. he looks tentative to the

voters. that's a problem. >> let me play what new jersey governor chris christie said yesterday about what he thought mitt romney needed to do about his campaign. >> it's his job over the next 49 days to make his case not -- and i would suggest to you respectfully, not just against barack obama. but he's got to make the case for mitt romney. and -- because people vote for someone most of the time not against someone. >> chip, is he right? >> i think he makes a pretty good point. i think that when you look at the electorate and where we are, i mean, voting against barack obama only gets you so far. but mitt romney does have to make the case why he should be president of the united states. i think he's been able to do that several times but he's got to do it forcefully over the next 48 days. >> there is a new "usa today" gallup poll swing states that finds more than one in five registered voters say they don't know who they're going to vote for or they could change their mind. we've been talking a lot about this very small, some people say six, eight, 10%. what are you going to be looking for over the next seven weeks

that's going to tell you whether or not this race could swing one way or another definitively? >> i think you got to look at, you know, key battlegrounds. you know, does the president grow his lead in those key battlegrounds? right now you have national polls, kind of an interesting dynamic. national polls are a bit tighter. but then you look at the certain battleground polls in particular what governor romney needs to win in order to have a path to win. ohio, florida, virginia depending on the polls he is down in all three of them. in ohio in particular. he can't win this election if he doesn't win ohio. the path becomes very difficult. so if you see this lead grow, that's a problem. i think what governor romney has -- i think governor christie is right. he has to go out there and make his hard case. the problem governor romney has is the policies and the vision he is selling is not necessarily what the american people want to buy. and that i think is the fundamental problem with the romney campaign. >> chip, is that it? is that the fundamental problem beyond the perceived gaffes?

>> well yaerks. i think the fundamental problem is pretty simple. we talked about your psychologist talked about it. mitt romney really does have a challenge connecting to people but his issues are right. i disagree with chris on that. his issues should be about the economy. unemployment is higher. a gallon of gas is $4 a gallon. it was $1.89 when he took office. there is a $16 trillion debt of what he added $4.5 trillion. these are huge issues fundamental to the future of our country and mitt romney needs to address those passionately. i've seen him do it. if he does it he can win this race in november. >> good to have you on the program. thank you very much. also making news this morning take a look at these live pictures. this is the space shuttle "endeavour" going west. it's in the air right now and it's on its way to los angeles. the new home at the california science center. "endeavour" flew 25 missions and circled the earth 4700 times. a new education campaign tells illegal immigrants to stay silent if they're pulled over. this is in response to that federal ruling that allows the

controversial show me your papers portion of the arizona law to take effect. immigrants are advised to offer only their names and birthdays and not to carry any papers. at least 26 people have died after a huge fire at a natural gas facility in mexico. now, officials say the fire was an accident but it is very close to warring drug cartels. it's the third fire in five weeks at that state-run oil complex. oh, boy. people are talking about this this morning. was jesus married? this papyrus fragment from the fourth century contains the phrase jesus said to them, my wife. christian scholars insist the new discovery does not provide historical evidence that jesus was married. but they are debating it. the biggest macy's in the world is getting a $400 million makeover. macy's herald square in new york city will get a sleeker, more modern style. by 2015 the store will also add an extra million square feet. it already boasts the world's largest women's shoe department.

preservation activists are angry that the landmark could lose its historic feel complaining that macy's has apple fever. and will and kate are doing a happy dance heading home after a big victory over those topless photos. we'll have details on that in 15 minutes. mixed news on the job market. good news bad news from cnbc's mandy drury with what's moving your money. so let's start with the warning of layoffs. thousands of american airlines workers have gotten those notices. >> that's right, chris. american airlines is sending layoff warning notices to more than 11,000 employees although just to put this in perspective those are the warning notices. the job losses may actually be closer to 4,400. who gets the notices? mechanics and ground workers whose jobs will be affected as the company is going through a bankruptcy restructuring. but as you say, bad news. then there's good news. here's the good news, guys. there is hiring at kohl's, the department store. it plans to hire more than

52,000 seasonal employees for the make or break holiday season. it can be 40% of a retailer's intake. and that hiring plan is up more than 10% from last year. it also expects to hire about 5700 part-timers at its distribution centers as well. there is some firing and also some hiring. >> all right. cnbc's mandy drury. thank you so much. the results are in. fans voted for the best tv shows of all time in a "people" magazine/abc survey. everyone's favorite bar, cheers, came in at number five. all in the family was 4. seinfeld, mash, and the best of the best, that's right. i love lucy. [ male announcer ] you like who you are...

and you learned something along the way. this is the age of knowing what you're made of. so, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor. see if america's most prescribed ed treatment is right for you. wthe future of our medicare andr electiosocial security. for... man 1: i want facts. straight talk. tell me your plan... and what it means for me.

woman 2: i'm tired of the negative ads and political spin. that won't help me decide. man 2: i earned my medicare and social security. and i deserve some answers. anncr: where do the candidates stand on issues that... affect seniors today and in the future? find out with the aarp voters' guide at earnedasay.org powerful trading tools for all. like our all-in-one trade ticket. we put strategies, chains and positions all on one screen.

start trading today with optionsxpress by charles schwab. [ female announcer ] now your best accessory can be your smile. with colgate optic white toothpaste. it whitens over 2 shades more than a leading whitening toothpaste. so with colgate optic white, the only accessory you need to look fabulous is your smile. colgate optic white. whiter teeth in 1 week. now try new colgate optic white mouthwash. for a whiter smile even faster, use the whole whitening line. whiter teeth in 5 days. has oats that can help lower cholesterol? and it tastes good? sure does! wow. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy.

no it's not a late night tv ad. >> you reel cain learn while you sleep. in a recent study researchers played a tone to sleeping participants and then followed the sound with either a pleasant or unpleasant scent. after waking participants reacted to the tone either inhaling or cutting their breath. both learned reactions based on the scent. >> glamour and politics rubbed shoulders at a manhattan night club last night where president obama raised an estimated $6.5 million. it was hosted by jay-z and beyonce. mitt romney appeared on live with kelly and michael to show his softer side on a day that his campaign was struggling with the fallout from the secretly recorded fundraiser speech. >> what does mitt wear to bed?

>> really. >> i didn't write the question, man. i promise. i didn't write the question. >> yes he did. >> i think the best answer is as littles possible. >> most serious question of all. honey, boo boo, or snooki? >> i'm kind of a snooki fan. >> look, i mean look how tiny she's gotten. she's lost weight and she is energetic. i mean just her spark plug personality is kind of fun. >> i'm joined now by "variety" magazine politics editor ted johnson. thax for getting up so early. >> thank you for having me. >> does it help mitt romney to look more like us that he can talk about snooki and honey boo boo or i can't even believe i'm saying those words or as ruth suggested is it demeaning to be talking about snooki at a time when the middle east is in turmoil and the economy is struggling? >> an interesting question. i think there probably could

have been a better day for mitt romney to be talking about these characters on tv, you know, these trivial things if you will. at the same time his campaign was really struggling to overcome the fallout from this released video. you really can't judge sometimes when you do a taped appearance this live with kelly and michael appearance was taped on friday. you really can't judge what is going to happen in the next few days. so there is some risk. you know, a lot of campaigns think that they're going to send their candidates into these talk shows and it's just going to be softball questions. but as this -- this is probably a good example of some of the pitfalls of doing this. another thing is that some of these talk show hosts actually are going to ask some hard questions, actually last night david letterman did get into some pretty deep issues with barack obama talking about the national debt, talking about the

gridlock in washington. that may be a little more challenging than what you would expect from a late night talk show host. >> yeah. i guess you do go on there, though, thinking that this is a chance to show i'm the kind of guy that you'd want to have a beer with or you'd like to have next door. you know, barack obama doesn't seem to need that kind of help if you look at the polls. they show how much more people like the president than they like mitt romney but is it important just to remind them? >> it's probably important just to remind them but letterman, his audience probably excuseske little more male, a little more white male with viewers. perhaps a few viewers that may not be obama supporters. that may be why obama spent so much time with letterman talking about the white house micro brewery. probably to his advantage. but i don't think it can hurt. another thing is campaigns i think have this perception that if they go on these shows, whether day time or late night,

they're actually going to reach voters or reach i think just citizens who may not even be planning to vote and that this might be kind of a last-minute way to actually get them interested and actually get them to the polls. >> there is an interesting headline out there that romney's got billionaires and obama's got hollywood talking about support and contributors. let me show you a list of celebs donating or fund raising for barack obama. includes george clooney, russell simmons, deepak chopra, tyler perry, mariah carey. we saw the big fundraiser last night. romney's list included sheldon adelson, roger penske, ira rennert. it is interesting. there was a time it seemed early on in the campaign before romney was the opponent that there was some question about how much hollywood would be backing barack obama this time around. have you seen a change? what are you feeling out there, ted? >> i'm feeling a lot more

enthusiasm than there was before the convention. i think the convention went a long way to show people within the entertainment industry that this is a president who actually can win. that's important in hollywood. they always want to be identified with a winner especially if a celebrity is going to actually lend his or her name to the campaign. what you're going to see in the next couple weeks are all sorts of industry figures who are going to be out on the campaign trail for president obama. also performing at fundraisers. tomorrow night eddie vetter, pearl jam will be at a fundraiser in tampa for the president. you have james taylor. you have jimmy buffet. i think you are going to see -- start to see people come out especially now that it -- that there's this perception that the romney campaign is damaged. i think that now it's kind of -- now is the time for a lot of these people within the

entertainment industry to actually step up. obama also will be out here on october 7th in l.a. for what's being billed as a very big concert. we don't know who is going to be the star act of that yet. >> always good to see you, ted. thank you. today's tweet of the day comes from the newshour's christina bellantoni, obama launching new youth voting effort that includes push to write on your hands. here is jessica alba. does look like jessica alba is giving the president a hand. get it? ♪ reaching out touching me ♪ touching you since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪

a great clean doesn't have to take longer. i'm done. i'm gonna read one of these. i'm gonna read one of these! [ female announcer ] unlike sprays and dust rags, swiffer 360 duster's extender gets into hard-to-reach places without the hassle. so you can get unbelievable dust pickup in less time without missing a thing. i love that book. can you believe the twin did it? ♪ swiffer. great clean in less time. or your money back. i was skeptical at first. but after awhile even my girlfriend noticed a difference. [ male announcer ] rogaine is proven to help stop hair loss. and for 85% of guys, it regrew hair. save up to 42% now at rogaine.com.

william and kate are coming home with the upper hand in their legal battle over the topless photos of the duchess. the french magazine ordered to turn over those photos of kate sun bathing. nbc is in london with more details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. there are reports coming in over the last couple hours the police or prosecutors have raided the

headquarters of the french magazine "close up" to find out who the photographer is. at this moment nbc news can't confirm this. we are trying to get verification on it. another new development to tell you about is that a danish weekly has said that tomorrow it will publish the photos of kate sun bathing and therefore will join france, italy, and ireland in having published the photographs. the couple have sued "close up" and yesterday it was banned from selling or republishing the pictures. the duke and duchess have also filed a criminal complaint but in order for that to take effect they really need to find the photographer. back to you. >> thanks very much. that wraps up this hour of "jansing & company." thomas roberts is up next. >> on the agenda next hour, every week seems like the worst week ever for mitt romney but even as republicans hover over the panic button is it too soon for democrats to dance in the end zone? our political power panel is going to weigh in on that. we've lined up matt miller, former mayor willie brown, and

mark mckinnon plus why is the 2012 race looking more like a 2004 redo? then the bill clinton factor. american economic optimism is on the rise. if the president wins re-election will he owe it all to the explainer in chief? plus are certain pastors advising african-americans to skip this election because neither candidate meets their moral test? the reverend a.r. bernard is going to join me. that and much more in a few minutes. 's a date. a reminder... that before this date, we have to exceed expectations. we have to find new ways to help make life easier, more convenient and more rewarding. it's the reason why we don't have costumers. we have members. american express. welcome in. oh, hey alex. just picking up some, brochures, posters copies of my acceptance speech. great! it's always good to have a backup plan, in case i get hit by a meteor.

wow, your hair looks great. didn't realize they did photoshop here. hey, good call on those mugs. can't let 'em see what you're drinking. you know, i'm glad we're both running a nice, clean race. no need to get nasty. here's your "honk if you had an affair with taylor" yard sign. looks good. [ male announcer ] fedex office. now save 50% on banners.

without freshly-made pasta. you could also cut corners by making it without 100% real cheddar cheese. but then...it wouldn't be stouffer's mac & cheese. just one of over 70 satisfying recipes for one from stouffer's. starts with ground beef, unions, and peppers baked in a ketchup glaze with savory gravy and mashed russet potatoes. what makes stouffer's meatloaf best of all? that moment you enjoy it at home. stouffer's. let's fix dinner.

hi everybody. topping the agenda today open rebel on. conservatives are circling mitt romney's campaign and calling for the candidate to step up his game after those off-the-cuff comments about the 47%. hell week is how the front page of the huffington post is describing it. the romney campaign strategy? reframe rather than renounce those controversial taped remarks. romney allowed cameras into a fundraiser for the first time last night and is trying to deflect some of the attention back on president obama by resurfacing a 14-year-old commen